Wednesday, March 2, 2011

There was a letter to the editor in today's Town Crier that asks a question I've heard several times. Folks wonder if it would be economically more efficient to combine LASD (and possible MVWSD) with the MVLA High School District.

We received a request from the Santa Clara County Grand Jury not long ago, asking the same question. Their own rough calculations were that it would save significant amounts of money, so we should do it.

There were many reasons not to combine with MVLA and MVWSD. Some of them are related to the unique nature of our educational program, and whether we'd be able to maintain that under a combined district. Those who aren't as close to our schools, though, might be skeptical of those answers.

For those folks, I have a simpler answer: It would cost us a fortune.

Under State law, when two school districts combine, the higher of the salary schedules becomes the schedule for all employees. For those unfamilar with teacher salaries, it's very common that high school teachers are paid more than elementary and middle school teachers. A quick calculation told us that we'd lose several million dollars every year by moving to this higher salary schedule.

Couple that fact, with the fact that we spend a scant 1.5% on central administration, and it just doesn't make any sense to combine with MVLA. We're pleased to send them our students, but the system serves us all better if we remain separate entities.

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About Me

I have 1 child in the LASD schools, and 1 who has graduated and moved on to high school. After several years of active volunteer work, I got involved in the school board. In the fall of 2009, I was elected to the Board of Trustees. I am grateful for the trust the community has placed in me. I intend to continue to use this blog to share my thoughts about district matters.

I have a passion for using technology to solve problems in new ways. I draw on my experience at a subscription billing company and past tech ventures to inform new approaches to solving longstanding issues in education. It isn't always comfortable for folks, but I believe there is a lot of cross-polination that can happen.

Please remember that this blog is my personal blog, and does not reflect the opinion of the Board as a group. No statements made here can be considered an offical policy of the Board, and this does not replace actions by the Board in any way. However, I'm happy to share what I can and I look forward to hearing your thoughts too.